Interview of k.p. Yohannan (Gospel for Asia) — K.P. Yohannan

Been praying for you all week. Especially those who nailed some things to the cross last Sunday, we've had your. You know that we took him down off the cross because we don't have to leave things on the cross.

Christ buried him, but we were gonna bury him or burn him or whatever. We couldn't and the Lord told us to keep him for a while. So we've been praying over your cards. It's a good thing. Christ died on the cross.

Freedom from Sin and Spiritual Accusation

This is a church full of sinners. Led by the chief sinner. That's my name chief sinner. Only because of Christ at st. Stephen of Livermore, you know, we're we're recovering from sin, aren't we? We're saved from sin.

We're not we don't have to keep wallowing in that we we're victorious, but we have been praying over you because the devil has a way of turning that thing that you nailed to the cross into a sticky note and he blows it in the wind and it sticks right back to you and We're praying against that.

Some of you had a great week after last weekend and you felt as light as air. But some of you were under spiritual attack and the devil was telling you what an awful person you are. He's a liar. You were awful not anymore.

You're saved. You're saved. You're clean. You're pure. And don't let the devil lie to you. All right, we'll get back to that and actually back to Colossians next weekend. But I had the opportunity to introduce you to somebody this weekend and I could not pass it up my friend here.

K.P. Yohannan’s Childhood and Call to Ministry

This is dr. KP Yohannan and I want to tell you a couple things about him and then in our conversation a few more things will come out. This is just a dear friend hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi and he Kp 60 years ago.

You were born in a little Indian village. What was the name of your village? Niranam and I Naram and like if we if we knew the map of India, where is that?

Oh, you go to India and go to the southernmost tip of the country.

Okay, and that's that's where I come from not too far from like Sri Lanka or the other. Well, yeah.

I've been from Sri Lanka half our flight. You land not far from where I was born and raised. You have brothers and sisters. I have six brothers. Well five brothers. I'm the youngest. You have six boys.

You're the youngest. I'm the youngest so you're like David. When Samuel came to anoint a king and They forgot to bring David in for the anointing. Is that you you're you David or Who are you? Well, I was.

Not the smartest of the most able person in us, but. The Lord answered my mother's prayer and called me to serve him. That's the best thing. Tell me about your mother well. She is barely five feet tall a small woman and she gave her life to Christ when she was young and she had a very deep and intimate walk with the Lord and she led me to the Lord when I was eight years old and Prayed that one of her sons will go and serve the Lord and and.

Finally, it was a three and a half years of every Friday fasting and prayer. That was very serious for her that the Lord would do that and I happened to be the one the Lord called.

Now when you were growing up, did you know she was. She had that prayer in her heart? No as a matter of fact her.

Godliness and walk with the Lord is very private. She never mentioned anything about this to any of her sons. No, it was very private and only after two years of my life In North India when I went back home, then she told me the whole story.

I did not know.

Now when a mother in that time in India in South India is praying For my for one of my sons to go into a full-time ministry Does that mean so that he's gonna have a nice car and he's gonna have a nice paycheck.

What does that mean?

Well, you know that's you know, like in America, you know We are blessed so much when somebody get in the ministry like you have staff here. None of them are starving to death. They there is income and insurance and all these different things.

But in India Like every year we graduate some 2 ,000 brothers from our 58 Bible colleges and when we send them out. One of the thing we tell them this is a one-way ticket. When you get to your mission field, there is a possibility you will be abused and beaten and maybe you be killed.

But if that happens never fear heaven is a much better place. You wait there for us and we'll come and see you later. For my mother to pray that one of her sons to go and serve the Lord. I know for sure she knew it was a one-way ticket.

Who. Or that is. And For sure enough the two years of my life in North India along with others I was beaten up and suffered and it was not easy at all and She knew what she was doing. And you know in our culture here living for the Lord and serving him.

It is a mystery to me why it is so Cross and pain and suffering is not part of it. Yet when Jesus sent out his disciples except John all of them lost their lives and the world was not kind to them and You know For my mother, although she never left The small community that she was born and raised her life was so completely Given over to the Lord and to the world that never heard his name and so she had this deep passion for the lost and dying millions and My life happening part of that Burden, she carried, you know to see her one of us boys to go and to be a missionary.

A Mother’s Sacrificial Giving for the Gospel

Now now in Indian culture when daddy dies Mom is in charge right or mom is to be honored.

Well, usually now cultures, you know an Asian culture usually it is, you know when the father is no more dies and the mother becomes the head of the family and. This is a normal thing. Yes.

But then it's for the sons to take care of her financially and.

Well, yes, usually the you know here you send all people to all people's homes. So there, you know the children take care of the older parents and. And in for my brothers they did very well and she was taken care of very well giving her whatever she wanted and and She had enough money to do whatever she wanted to do with it.

Yeah, you were telling me that story yesterday about when you came and you saw she was wearing that shirt that Needed to be thrown away. Tell us that story. Well.

You Know I mean One time I went back home to see my you know, mother From North India and I saw her wearing this you know the blouse we call it it was torn and can old and your hand stitched like a Mickey Mouse job and I was quite angry with her.

The reason was in our culture when your parents are not taken care of. It is a horrible shame for the the children because we are a shame based culture instead of a guilt based culture as you Have here and so I said to my mother mother, you know, this is nothing less than madness.

You cannot do stuff like this and you hurt your sons. And I said you have plenty of money to do whatever you want to if you want buy a new dress every week. You can do that. But why do this to us. Because you know, she simply smiled.

It's always she did. She said you my little son, you don't understand but someday you will how old were you at that point? Well, you know you're talking about I was 32 33 years old. So she's still patting you on the top.

Oh, yeah. She always thought I was a little kid. You don't understand. You don't understand. Yeah, but you know, that sounds like my mom. So there's some similarity there. Yeah. Well, you know in 1990 I was on the way to Korea From the United States when I heard my mother was sick and she never been sick you know be can think of and I went to the hospital that weekend at the age of 84 she passed away and The funeral take place and then I need to go back to You know States.

So my brothers and I we had a meeting talking about our mother. My father passed away earlier and he was a believer, too. But that's when we discovered that. We all thought there must be tremendous amount of money huge amount of money sitting in the bank because we never saw her spending in.

The money and you were all giving her money. Oh, yeah.

I mean what I mean, we never asked question why if she say I want 20 ,000 rupees or 50 ,000 rupees, you know. My father brothers are fairly well to do and there was no question about anything like that but we discovered there was nothing in the bank and And What happened was she left a record of what she was doing with the money and it was under the pillow of her bed.

And in it was pages and pages and pages and names of brothers in North India in different places and Bible schools. She never been to those places and She was sending money every month Privately without telling any human being and then she left the note when I'm dead and gone.

The only thing I will leave behind It's my wedding ring my earrings and the gold chain My husband gave me when he married me at the age of 19. I wanted to sell these items and give the money to preach the gospel among people that never heard Jesus name.

I want to meet them also in heaven. And of course, you know that really broke me and I wept and wept. I realized it's like my mother walked back into the room and saying my son now you understand what I lived for.

Missions, Materialism, and the Lost

You see that's what I say pastor Steve you can be living in the United States in in San Jose you can be so preoccupied with your car and your Dreams and ambitions your children your grandchildren and your well-being and your health and all this stuff.

It's nothing bad about these things, but Somehow my mother although she never left a small village. She knew hundred years and now nothing really mattered and Missions and caring for the lost world for many Christians.

It is one or the thing to do not the passion yet. Jesus. He said the Son of Man came To seek and to save that which was lost and my mother having known the Lord that became Reality that she lived and breathed and worked and sacrificed day and night.

She spent more than three hours a day No less than that in prayer early morning hours on her knees crying out and I didn't know what it was all about. Until I grew up so it's not a matter of You becoming guilty or condemned about what you have, but it's a journey we all make.

But the reality is that we had to make choices against our own will and flesh. So that Christ can incarnate through our earthen vessels and fulfill his plan and my mother became The model for my life and even today I think about it.

You've got us all thinking about it, too. So many of us here, you know, there's some great mothers and grandmothers in this congregation and You're what you're doing is you're pulling out that value in them reminding them that those kids are gonna grow up and they're gonna be our age someday and.

What what's gonna what's gonna what are they gonna remember about their mother?

Yeah, I mean I you know. Traveled 300 ,000 air miles a year and speak you can imagine that takes me to a lot of places and to parents I always say this. The answer to your children your grandchildren's future.

It is a gentle humble quiet Honest walk with the Lord and love Jesus more than materialism and comforts and they will turn out good. And you know, you you have a very unique church here. And I'm blessed to meet the number of people I meet and the and the sense I get that.

They are learning from you and becoming like you which is a good thing.

I think I'm learning from them and they're becoming like Jesus, but Now you you're 17 you go to the mission field and then you realize you need some more training. So some by God's grace you end up in Texas at a seminary or Bible College and you're training and then you start to settle in Texas.

Tell us about that. Well, you know America is a wonderful place. But it does strange things to aliens like me and I the first week of my life in America I went to a you know house fellowship and they gave me You know these chips he called it Mexican chips, you know and sauce I didn't know what it was but worse was they gave me a glass of something to drink.

I thought it was coca-cola. I drank that thing and I threw up it was dr. Pepper. I I Just said I can't believe Americans drink medicine with their food. Because you know because now I I do ask for dr. Pepper.

But you know, I was in seminary and then pastoring a Church and a Southern Baptist congregation in Dallas, but you know without me even knowing about it the heart I had Weeping and broken and hurting for the lost world eight years of my journey throughout India and many nations.

It became kind of history now. I'm more sophisticated philosophy psychology and theology and all the other stuff and then you know, I Had books in my library that I may never read but I wanted so many more books and nothing wrong with all this stuff.

But somehow I found myself after nearly three years. My heart was cold. There was no more tears I knew everything in my head, but I was no more concerned about my little life and how I look and what I am more than what Jesus is all about and that's when the Lord allowed me to you know learn that and a turning point in my life and you know, I Remember one day during that time of the Lord dealing with my heart.

I had 70 neckties and quite expensive 7 -0 70 must be almost all of them from Europe and It takes me sometime half hour to color coordinate my clothes because I read the book color me beautiful. I did.

You know how far Indian can you know go? It but I remember the Lord, so are you like a summer or whatever? Well, I'm I'm a winter. Oh, you're Yeah, I figure this out brown skin. What else is there? But you know The God is so loving gracious.

He's not going around condemning people and abusing us. He's gentle and I remember one day the Lord said son look at this closet and look at The the amount of clothes hanging there and the expensive materials you have nothing wrong with that.

But son half of the world go to bed with empty stomach and naked bodies. What are you doing with this? And I looked at my library shelf seven Expensive leather-bound Bibles and the Lord said son half of the world have never seen one page of the Bible.

Didn't I call you to love me more than all and your very life? Don't you care and he didn't put me on a guilt trip, but it was conviction and I said to my wife. I said Gisela just want to keep couple of jackets and couple of ties and couple of pair of shoes and and I'm not recommending people to get it off their house and cars and wives and children near those things basically, it was my personal journey.

God leads everybody different and That was 33 some years ago and I'm telling you It's the most incredible thing to walk away from stuff that put you in Bondage for the sake of the cross and it's an incredible journey, and I'm still on this journey.

Yeah, you still are and that's what's so exciting brother KP because so many of our mentors who have succeeded in great ways have Disappointed us and failed us and not finished. Well, but as I watch your life, I see you you're still climbing the mountain.

I mean, I can't keep up with you. And that's an encouragement to all of us that are still trying to Live righteously and to serve the Lord. So thank you for doing that. Thanks even just for my sake. Thank you for doing that.

I've had a few disappointments along the way of other guys that I looked up to and they didn't. Well, you know, they're just human but I expected a little more of them and. So now you're back to your mother's values because you're back you go back and forth between India and Dallas.

You have this ministry that we would probably think of as a huge ministry. And let me just let me just kind of give you some perspective on the ministry. How many Bible colleges are you leaving? 58 58.

Asian Bible College with maybe.

Seven or eight thousand students. Yeah, it's between six and seven thousand. Six and seven.

And then how many churches are believers. Churches? Well over the you know, three decades of our ministry.

We have some 12 ,000 congregations in 13 nations and 15 ,000 full-time workers and a radio broadcast in 110 languages and we produce or 40 million pieces of Bible portions and literature in all the major languages.

And you know We do have our US headquarters as you know pastive in Dallas. We have 160 some people that work behind the scene as missionaries. Like, you know We both are serving the Lord and my wife Gisela is in Dallas and my son Danny and his wife and two children.

My daughter is in India and I travel out of the United States about ten times a year. But the little time I get in between I come to place like this to share the burden for the lost world especially the children that we are Desperately to seek in your help.

Bridge of Hope and the Gospel’s Care for Children

Let's talk about those children.

You your your mother is a mother who sent all the money away and left you, you know with nothing so to speak. And yet she left you with everything. What are you leaving? Yeah, what are you leaving your kids with in regards to these children in India?

What?

You know From the day they were born literally we my wife and I prayed Lord save them as early as possible. Then call them to serve you. We never ever told our children. You should go and be missionaries.

No. They had the opportunity to go to Germany to be in America or anywhere in the world to do whatever they want to do. But we kept praying and when they finished their high school studies in the United States They both felt they want to go and serve God which is an answer to prayer and you know Here it is I think this very sobering.

But I was barely 17 when the Lord called me to serve the Lord and my children both left America when they were 18. But then just recently I turned 60 and it is a strange thing happened to me that is. It was like yesterday.

I left my home traveling 2 ,000 miles north and Today I'm 60 and I think to myself Whatever happened to time it Just gone so fast. So what do I leave for my children? I think they watch very carefully how their dad and mom walked before them nothing worth saving fighting for.

Acquiring and living for it just for a moment so The Legacy I can live for my children. It is a life that walks the two jackets and a couple of pair of shoes and a 62 Volkswagen bug and a bicycle and a life that the best I know how walked with the Lord and I think I'm Now, of course, you know, I have two children and you know Three grandchildren, but I am now happy because I got 60 ,000 more children you have.

60 ,000 children. Absolutely. Let's talk about well 60 ,000 children, but that's not like a you're like a bumblebee. Well, you know first hurdle or something.

60 ,000 children. Yeah, you know the thing is a few years ago the Lord gripped my heart on the streets of Bombay. When I saw the picture of a little boy laying on the sidewalk drinking milk from my street dog.

That was in the newspaper, right? Isn't the front in the front page the the Indian Express newspaper black and white picture and the caption read? This dog is his mother. And they talked about over 100 ,000 children living on the streets of Bombay then hundred thousand more in Calcutta.

Not knowing who their parents are and I remember Jesus asking me Do you care for these kids as much as you care for your children? And that was a turning point with the huge repentance on my heart because I'm a radical conservative.

You know. You know Evangelical committed for preaching and baptizing planting churches. I don't care. And then I realized there are 62 million child Laborers in India belonging to the untouchable Dalit community and there are 15 million bonded child laborers like, you know.

You and your wife got three four kids and you need 30 40 dollars since my emergency. You quote the landlord or the factory owner or the upper caste and say please give me $30. And he say what do you have to give to me?

He say take my kids and they work for you and They work for years and years making eight nine cents for the whole day's work.

These kids are lost whatever because they can never pay back the debt. No, I mean they literate people.

They never know what they're doing and we had to buy many times children back from these people put them in school. So we began to go after we call it a bridge of hope. Yeah 580 centers where we have now 60 ,000 children, but pastor Steve what is that when you think about 62 million out there and so Gospel for Asia one of our most powerful thing.

I have seen experience in my life these precious kids like you have in Africa and 200 kids at a center and they come they learn about Jesus they learn education and They they give their heart to the Lord and then they tell the story to their poor parents living in the shacks in the huts.

And in one place in the last five years, we have seen 2 ,000 families the whole families coming to believe in Jesus all in one village.

Yeah, three villages three villages, but yeah one school or several schools just several bridge of hope, but they're all together. Yeah, and you've documented say that again some 2 ,000 families the whole family.

Yeah, do you love that little girl exactly?

It's it's a whole people's movement, you know, one little boy in a boon. I tell this story everywhere first grader. He comes to the Center and learn about Jesus healing the sick and casting a demon sin learn choruses and he goes and tells his father Jesus can kill heal his mother.

His mother was sick and dying living in a little hut and the man comes to our center saying Would you have your medical doctor. Jesus come and heal my wife? He thought we had a medical doctor. So missionaries name was Jesus.

Jesus and our missionaries go and talk to him about the Lord and read from the Bible explain and lay a hand on the woman and the Lord heals her right there and. That became the reason for the first church to be planted in the community.

Once they saw healing, you know, they realized, you know, that's what the Bible says and the Lord working with them. Confirming the word through signs and wonders the gospel must be preached. But Jesus show up for these poor untouched unheard Unforgiven lost people with his grace and mercy and that draws them to him and I think we see that happening all over in Burma.

The same thing happened in Bhutan. The same they happen Bangladesh in India and my. You know prayer and and and and pain today Lord help us to reach out to another.

500 ,000 children so you have 60 ,000 now and you're gonna go for.

500 ,000. That's that's our dream and prayer and that's one of the reason positive I take time to you know. Come to place like this to share our hearts people that know us and understand and see what the Lord will do.

Well, we decided a long time ago that we weren't going to attach to small vision and small dreams. And so that's a dream that scares the daylights out of me. So I like it. I Like it a lot. That's awesome.

And you know Brenda and I we've traveled with you through India. We've seen what you've done for these kids and it is amazing when you love someone's child. You're loving them no matter what if they're poor or rich.

If you love their child, you're loving them. You guys have discovered something that goes back to a holistic gospel instead of just a preaching gospel.

Literacy, the Dalits, and Gospel Outreach

Yeah, I mean you see there was a time in my earlier writings.

I was absolutely against any kind of social work. Yeah, I remember I read yeah, I was like wow this guy he thinks.

Yeah, yeah, you know the thing is the thing is like Africa or Thailand, you know the history of missions billions dollars. We you know pumped into these nations, but nothing changed for them. Why. Because the missionaries would not preach Jesus died for you on the cross repent and turn away from sin.

And he is alive and have faith in him, but they refuse to say that. But just to say that to a dying man a Hungry man a man on the street a little girl in the red light district they can't figure this out, but when you see the need and and and and and Embrace these people they understand the gospel.

So it is Jesus came and he preached the kingdom, but also healed the sick and. And and your church here, I'm absolutely amazed and I'm grateful to the Lord for what you do and You know, and I pray that the church you will never get tired.

Or weary of doing more because in the end from every nation every kindred every language.

We must have people in heaven. Yeah, and we'll get to meet them. Amen. Somehow. I think we're gonna know who we are. Well when Britain and I were there she saw women Studying this book and They're just in a village.

They're just sitting around and there's a woman Leading them like and we thought oh, it's a woman's Bible study. It's a woman's. Tell us about this book. Well, you know the.

285 million untouchables pastor Steve. They are the way say that over. They are the Dalits. How many?

285 million. What's the population of the u .s? It's less than that is it. Yeah, it's so just the untouchables like slumdog millionaire.

Yeah, exactly. How many of you saw the movie slumdog millionaire? Brilliant.

That's accurate, right? That movie is yeah, I mean, I mean see.

That is one movie. I couldn't watch through any time without breaking up because the little boy. You know that little beggar boy on the street blind. He was blinded by people to making my beggar. That is not a fiction and.

That's very painful and most of these people are from what he called the Dalits. There are 1 .2 billion people in India. Nearly 300 million are the untouchables. They are the Hindu caste. One-third is like the slave cast.

Yeah, their value is less than dogs and animals that you you look up in there. Think about it among the women possessive of these people. There's not more than three percent literacy rate.

97 of the women of the Dalit Dalits are illiterate because when we meet.

Indian people here in the u .s. They're highly educated. They're upper caste. Usually all I mean you you never ever see. Backward caste or untouchable back Dalit come to America. There's no way they could afford.

There's no schooling for them.

Yeah, but there it's totally different. Yeah, so what what we are doing.

When we found out these Dalits these people are telling us we will believe in Jesus whatever you tell us to do, but please help us to find hope for the future and our children and our Mothers and fathers.

We don't know how to read and write. This is when the our ministry launched this literacy program and this book was written by women, right? Exactly it's I'm this. Then they go through the whole thing.

Bible verses and Scripture is used to teach them reading and writing and they end up giving the life to the Lord when we do this thing.

100 right. Absolutely so far. Yeah. So now you've got their child in the school. You're teaching her how to read and write. You're showing her the love of Christ and the village comes alive. Yeah, I mean basically it's the whole community that turned to Christ.

It's you know, I was telling Chris yesterday it'll be nice sometime. We can have people from here 10 15 people sometime travel for a couple of weeks and see what God is doing because in heaven we are going to be with Them.

It's good to have this experience here.

Maybe we could send a group of some of our powerful women. It's younger a little older and they could tour and then come back in.

Absolutely, and and we will make sure they don't you know die there.

Well, I don't die there. I gain weight.

The food is so good. If some people are afraid to go to these places thinking that it's so primitive and so it's not like that.

You know Brenda Brenda will tell. Yes, I didn't. You know, yeah. Yeah so when you think about a church like Cornerstone and you think about. You know, you're speaking to a not we are we already we're with you.

Everybody's gonna go out and adopt more children and there's no we know that. But are there any scriptures that just come to your mind where you think. Because I know in some churches where you go you have to kind of bring a bit of a rebuke, right?

Boom, I bet that's not very fun. It's not easy. They're like now our friend KP and then you come out and you just let them have it, right?

Well, I try to be kind. No, I've heard.

I've actually been there a couple of times.

But it is it's it's nice to come to a fellowship like this where we can just talk and share the heart. They understand it.

Jesus’ Teaching on Welcoming Children

Okay, but give us some scripture. Well, I.

Think the thing that touches me the most about the children in the gospel of Matthew chapter 18 Where Jesus said it's a horrible thing for someone to hurt kids, but then he explains that Those who receive them they receive me and elsewhere he said and my father also then he says for their angels in heaven they behold the face of the father and That is explanation.

So he says every child in the slum of Bombay Among the untouchables the Dalits the broken the poor the naked the beggars Angels are with them waiting and hoping Someone will come in the name of the Lord love them and give them hope and when I do that Then the father says, oh, I'm so glad they obeyed me and the heaven rejoices so Keeping in mind that what we do here on earth is not just little works But it touches heaven It touches the heart of the father That makes me want to jump up and down do everything in the world Because soon I'm going to see the Lord face to face and I I want him to say.

Yeah You embrace me a thousand times. I said Lord when On the streets in the slums you loved you cared and That gives me the encouragement at my encouragement to you, you know, Steve It's it's we it's a nice thing.

You have the clock telling you you have to stop or get going. No, I ignore it. I.

Ignore it. It's a cool thing. I like that thing. It's just numbers flashing.

Video Presentation on Sheela and the Slums

But I was thinking it will be nice if you think you know the couple of minutes that video they can watch.

Why don't watch the video? Yeah. Okay. Let's see. Let's see. You're gonna see. Now when we go to India, we see beautiful things. Taj Mahal. I mean India's a most colorful nation. The smells the spices the.

It's amazing. But the the vision here is more of the dark side of what we see.

But this is where the Lord takes. This really tells the the the condition of these people. Like in the slumdog millionaire movie, it's not just one or two. If you're talking millions and what we are doing to bring hope to them.

All right, let's watch that.

Going to school is an impossible dream. She is a doll. Viewed as subhuman by the Hindu caste system. Her people are commonly assaulted raped. Hearts, they hunger for love and reassurance. To be told for once that their lives are worth something.

Gospel for Asia has long wanted to tell these people that Jesus loves them and offers them hope. But how. Now God has provided a way to reach them through their children by sponsoring a child today. For $28 a month.

You can give a child an education clothing food and medical care and most of all. You give your child the message of Christ's love and hope for the future. Sponsor your bridge of hope child today. Simply fill out this card and bring it to the GFA table.